What I mean by the title is that when it comes to wine, for the most part there is no such thing as a silly question. Many years ago before I even considered studying wine, I used to think, ‘How tough can it be to understand this? It’s just a bunch of fermented grape juice.

Regardless of what types of wine you enjoy most, you can’t help but have heard the loud and continuous pounding of the drum regarding the 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux vintages. To some, this pounding is analogous to having a major headache. To Bordeaux aficionados, it is like resplendent music to the ear. Why? Because it

Shameless, as in Showtime’s white trash ghetto family that gets by in life by conning other people; America’s marketers apparently have absolutely no idea how egregious their most recent initiative is to wine lovers of the world. This group is attempting to surreptitiously sell US wine in European Union markets labeled with the words Château and Clos, effectively

One of wine’s greatest attributes is that it is such a convivial instrument and, in perhaps a nontangible way, could be considered a non-electronic, drinkable version of social media if it’s purposed within the right setting of course. The medium of wine sparks curiosity, exploration, social gatherings, the search for like-minded people, information sharing, consensus,

Imagine this for a minute. You could make 34,980 bottles of wine that generate about $140 million per year, which calculates to about $4000 per bottle, retail value. In this scenario you own Château Pétrus. You discover that your bank account is overflowing like trying to pour an entire imperial into a half bottle and you

Recently Elin McCoy at Bloomberg News reported that the Chinese have decided to embrace, in varying degrees, California wine, which may not ultimately be the best scenario for California or its finest estates. Other than their propensity to forge products and pirate intellectual property, I have not an ounce of animosity toward the Chinese, so my comments

In recent months there has been a concerted and even somewhat organized effort to petition critics, retailers, and wine buyers to stop using wine scores. The argument essentially is that scores demean good wine because people that use them don’t read the actual tasting notes, which is allegedly where the ‘real’ information lies. In other words you

With the sharpness of a French sabre, in one swift groundbreaking move, Bordeaux First Growth Château Latour obliterates decades of tradition. And I for one am extremely pleased, while others are clearly not. What’s the big deal? First of all I should let you in on the issue if you haven’t already heard. A few weeks

In our final installment, Susan Thomas reveals what wines light her fire and other germane thoughts about the industry. Considering her demanding business and travel schedule, I feel fortunate to have had time with her and appreciate her generosity in sharing her wisdom about a subject we collectively so love. Tell me about your favorite

We can read all of the textbooks and access a plethora of resources but the experience of collectors provides a remarkable and essential backdrop for deepening our understanding of wine. Collectors don’t just fall from the sky of course, but rather like most of us, we develop our interests, usually alone, until we have occasion